Where in the Wild is Chris?

My love of fire lookouts began in 2014 while living in the Methow Valley of North Central Washington State. During a low snow year with challenging skiing, I learned that Okanogan County has the highest number of fire lookouts still remaining in the State, and the Methow Valley Ranger District is home to eight of those. That winter I began “peakbagging” to some local fire lookouts and it didn’t take long for my ambitions to grow. In 2017, I began visiting and photographing lookouts across the state and on July 1, 2019, became the 3rd person, and 1st woman, to complete the “Standing Lookouts of Washington” (aka SLOW) peakbagger list. In 2020, I began partnering with the Methow Valley Ranger District to aid in the preservation of our local fire lookouts, founding the Methow Valley Forest Fire Lookout Association in 2022. Through my involvement with the Ranger District, I was offered the opportunity in 2021 to staff the Goat Peak fire lookout, located at 7,001' in the North Cascades near Mazama, WA, and have continued to staff the lookout each fire season since. I knew I had found something extraordinarily special at Goat Peak, a place to engage all my senses. An intimate perch to watch the weather and nature all around us and to simply observe the beauty of it all while helping visitors do the same. A place where I could assist in relaying critical weather and fire information to wildland fire and backcountry crews in an area where mountains create communication challenges. I’ve always been an advocate for staffing fire lookouts, and this experience has convinced me even more that technology can never replace a person sitting high atop these historic structures. Fire lookouts are not only used for early fire detection, but also for communication as well as building a deeper connection to both the surrounding nature and the local community. I love sharing the beautiful views and experiences from Goat Peak every summer. Enjoy!